Lakers' new signings surround LeBron James with a cast of oddballs

Welcome to Los Angeles, LeBron. Now make room for the guy who once sidled up to you on a basketball court and blew in your ear. Save a seat for the guy who essentially was thrown off a team during a playoff series for being a troublemaker. And, hey, clear some space for the guy best known for his…

The Lakers have agreed to a one-year, $9 million deal with point guard Rajon Rondo and renounced the rights to Julius Randle, who now has a two-year agreement with the Pelicans, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Before DeMarcus Cousins agreed to join the defending-champion Warriors on a one-year, $5.3 million contract, the Trail Blazers and Pelicans discussed the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal that would have sent the star center to Portland, reports Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). However, according to Haynes, the fact that Cousins and Jusuf Nurkic share the same agent was one…

DeMarcus Cousins narrowed his choices of teams to sign with as a free agent down to the best team in the NBA and perhaps the favorite to make it out of the Eastern Conference next season.DeMarcus Cousins sent Twitter into hysterics on Monday when news broke he would be joining the Golden State Warriors on an extremely team-friendly deal. The…

Max Scherzer’s slider is pretty dang good, but he doesn’t deserve too much credit for this swing and miss from Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon. Whether Leon took his eye off the ball or suddenly believed the strike zone was in his pants, you can’t embarrass yourself at the plate much more than this.Read more…

The Clippers and free-agent forward Mike Scott have agreed to a one-year deal, according to an NBA official who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Scott averaged 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds last season with the Washington Wizards. Scott is a 6-8 forward who can stretch the floor…

It may be hard to believe, but training camps are just around the corner, and that means meaningful football isn’t far off. It also means that previously injured players, under-performers and sophomores have another opportunity to prove they belong in the hard-hitting NFL.Here’s a look at 32 players — one from each team — who are ready to make the…